Another fried ECU? I think so...

[knwldge54]

Starting to believe my K-Pro'd ECU has taken a dump on me. Even worse, it's looking to be my fault. Either way, here's the rundown.

Calibration: Base kal - K20A2 / JRSC / 9psi / 550 inj.
Datalog - N/A (Cannot connect ot the ECU)
Vehicle: JRSC 2002 Acura RSX Type-S
ECU - K-Pro'd original PRB ECU
Other Mods - Innovative Mounts, NGK "8" spark plugs, Hondata IMG, Relocated Wiring Harness Ground to Valve Cover Head Stud


Specific Description of the problem:

My Setup when the problem started:
02 RSX-S
K-Pro
JRSC @ 7psi
RC550 Injectors (w/ clips. Never cut the harness)
K20A2/JRSC/9psi/550 injectors
NGK "8"s
Hondata IMG
Innovative Mounts

Current setup: Same as above w/9psi pulley + stock plugs


After I bought and installed the s/c myself, I uploaded the K20A2/JRSC/9psi/550inj kal. The car was running great and I was only waiting a set of 650s or 750s so I could get the car professionally tuned. About 2 weeks, I realized the car was running normal but would not let me rev over 4k. More details:

At this point, my first thought is the damn engine ground I didnt have time to relocate. Not the one on the valve cover head stud, but the ground that was on the steel p/s engine mount. I figured this was the problem and went about trying to solve it. I hooked up a laptop w/ the newest version 1.2.2.2 of K-Manager and went about connecting the ground to a 10mm head bolt on the engine itself. As soon as I connected the ground, K-Manager went from Online-Ignition Off to Online-Ignition On. I'm thinking, "great, it fixed". NO. I get out the shop and start driving off, car is still stuck at reving up to only 4k. DAMN! I connect the laptop to the ECU thinking for some reason it's stuck in the infamous "limp mode" I've heard of. The laptop was no longer seeing the Ignition as being ON anymore and there was no green light on the ECU. Maybe cable went bad? Bought new cables (short and long) but still wouldn't connect. Then I tried using the laptop that I orignally used to upload the first (and only) kal. This didn't work either. I even used an extension cord and brought my desktop into the car, still didn't work. Maybe it's the plugs? Switched back the stock plugs, still didn't work.

NOTE: Between all of my troubleshooting, I removed the ECU fuse, ECU, and battery in hopes of resetting the ECU. Didn't seem to make a difference.

My most recent attempts at troubleshooting led to me check resistance in the engine bay. I check the alternator, s/c manifold, head, block, transmission, negative battery terminal and several locations on the chassus itself. All reading were under one ohm. WTF. Tonight I removed the engie ground the chassi side and checked resistance again. I figured that if the reading was significantly off, then I'd be inclined to believe that the temporarily disconnected may have caused the problem. Unfortunately, reading were under two ohms.

I've also removed the ECU cover (several times) and checked the K-Pro and ECU board for obvious damage but could not find any. I do know that all ECU damage may not be obvious, but I'm just making a note of it.

I've been reading through a buttload of threads here and 2 other forums trying to see if anyone else had this problem but no one seems to come close. Any help, by anyone, is well appreciated. Whether it's because of the disconnected ground or some other random failure, I do believe the ECU is fried and I need to go about transferring it to a good ECU. I'm honestly just looking for any other opinions/ideas before sending the ECU and "new" ECU off to Hondata. The car is my daily driver and I'm willing to attempt as many "local" fixes as I possibly can. Thanks for any help in advance.

-Marcus

P.S. - Really, really don't feel like typing? IM me on Yahoo, Hotmail or AIM. Screen name is knwldge54 on all of 'em.

[tnhatch02]

Current setup: Same as above w/9psi pulley + stock plugs

i know u tried the other plugs...but i wouldn't put the stock plugs in. and i have had the P/S ground unbolted once before and it did not cause any damage to the ecu afterwards. i am by no means a pro at kpro, but i am learning and hopefully some of the staff can be of more assistance...

[knwldge54]

Current setup: Same as above w/9psi pulley + stock plugs

i know u tried the other plugs...but i wouldn't put the stock plugs in. and i have had the P/S ground unbolted once before and it did not cause any damage to the ecu afterwards. i am by no means a pro at kpro, but i am learning and hopefully some of the staff can be of more assistance...

Hopefully

[knwldge54]

I noticed someting strange last night before putting my ECU cover back on. For some reason, the ECU s/n on the outside casing doesn't match the ECU s/n on top of the large white connector plug. Is this normal?

-Marcus

[Spunkster]

There will more than likely not be any visible damage inside the ecu. Based on all the testing you have done at this point it is pretty safe to say that the ecu is damaged and needs to be replaced. Please call for an RMA number. Make sure you explain who you are and that your problem has be discussed on the forum and include your username.

[knwldge54]

There will more than likely not be any visible damage inside the ecu. Based on all the testing you have done at this point it is pretty safe to say that the ecu is damaged and needs to be replaced. Please call for an RMA number. Make sure you explain who you are and that your problem has be discussed on the forum and include your username.

One last stab at this before I call in.

I noticed last night that the serial number on the outsied of the ECU is different than the one the sticker on top of the plug. The exterior sticker reads:
37820-PRB-A05
2068-500058

The sticker on the inside reads:
37820-PRB-A04
2068-401409-0I21

Is this normal or does it point the original ECU board being removed while another one replaced it and was reflashed by Acura to work w/ the car?

Last question: Based on the problems I'm having, does it point to a fried ECU or a fried K-Pro board? I'm not asking you divulge the details, just wondering if it definetly points to the ECU being bad and not the K-Pro board. I know there's no "warranty" on K-Pro but I'd like to know what my options are if it went bad.

[Spunkster]

The mismatch of the stickers will mean nothing. Based on all you have stated, your ecu is damaged and will need to be replaced. You will not be able to see any physical damage. You will need to call for an RMA number.

[knwldge54]

What time does Hondata close?

Edit: What are Hondata's hours?

[Hondata]

9-5 PST

[knwldge54]

Alright, I missed my chance to call on Friday due to my endentured servitude to the man. I was able to get my hands on a 100% working ECU to test my daughterboard in. (The ECU was pulled from a running car). I stuck my board in and the car did start. I immediately shut it off since I'm sure it didn't have my kal programmed into the ECU already. I didn't take the chance of revving it anything pass idle.

Here's what happened tonight:

About 4 1/2 hours ago (10pm CST) I went to Circle K; it's about 2 minutes away. The green light at the USB port never came on (as usual) but the car was hauling ass way past 4k. I'm like, WTF? About a minute later, I shut the car off to get some gas. Turn the car back on, I'm back at 4k limit.

Alright, now it's 2:20am CST and I head out to the car to get some medication. The temp is 38 degrees btw. Just for sh1ts and giggles, I put in the key and turn the ignition to ON. Green light on the ECU is blinking! I crack open the laptop and fire it up. K-Manager is reading ignition ON! I'm thinking, this is great. The laptop is kind of slow but I finally get all the windows open to check for codes, turn on the immobilizer and hopefully datalog. Checked for error codes, nothing. Turned on the immobilizer and the ECU started going crazy. (Keep in mind the car is still off, just the ignition turned to ON) It starts alternating between green and red for about 10-15 seconds then becomes unresponsive again as if I were dreaming. I try removing/inserting the key a few times hoping to revive something, nothing. I drove around for about 15 minutes hoping the light would come back on, nothing. K-Manager was back to reading Online-Ignition Off.

With this additional information available, is Hondata still pointing to the ECU as the fault? If the K-Pro board is no good, do I have to pay additional fees for it's replacement or repair in addition to the ECU?

I'll will defientely call tommorow at 9am (PST) to discuss what I need to do. Consider this a post an update/heads-up.

-Marcus

[knwldge54]

After last night's episode, I figured the same thing would happen this morning. Surely enough, it did. The green LED on the ECU lit up and I could connect to the ECU. Unfortunately once again though, it did not stay responsive for more than 4 or 5 minutes.

I was able to view the ECU info, clear all DTCs and reload my current kal w/ the immobilizer turned on. For some reason, the car didn't give any error codes even though OBD2 is on and so is the CEL. Also, the display window wasn't showing anything.I'll continue troubleshooting some more today.

-Marcus

[knwldge54]

Troubleshooting is still in progress. Very important question :

Is a faulty primary O2 sensor enough to make the ECU basically disable K-Pro and stay in it's current limp mode? If so this could be the primary cause of my problems. I'm getting a CEL code P1166 (usually fixed by installing a new primary O2 sensor). The ECU seems to be ignoring the faulty ABS sensor and only throwing out the one CEL code.

-Marcus

[Spunkster]

The mismatch of the stickers will mean nothing. Based on all you have stated, your ecu is damaged and will need to be replaced. You will not be able to see any physical damage. You will need to call for an RMA number.

[knwldge54]

I already have an RMA number and I already have another K-Pro ready ECU. I'm just trying to avoid wasting time, money and my ride to work by sending the ECUs in. I'd hate to send the ECUs in only to hear that they are both fine or both broken. The ECUs will be at Hondata before the week is out.